Hindu temples attacked and looted, sacred idols desecrated by miscreants in Bangladesh amidst ongoing persecution of Hindus
Chittagong District, Bangladesh 
24 December, 2025
Case Summary
In Anwara Upazila of Chittagong in Bangladesh, four Hindu temples were attacked and vandalised by miscreants. The attackers also looted the temples and desecrated several idols of revered Hindu deities. This incident occurred on 25 December 2025. According to police, two of the four temples are public, and two are temples that belong to particular families. On the night of the incident, the miscreants broke the locks of the temples and looted the daily worship items, including gold necklaces, conch shells, dhals, and puja pots inside. In addition, various items, including Shiva’s snake ornaments, Nandi idols, copper tridents, and metal bells, were looted from the Shiva temple. Several idols of Hindu deities were vandalised. The entire incident came to light on the morning of 26 December 2025. Following this, a complaint was filed with the police station on 27 December 2025 by the temple authorities. Locals stated that this incident was not just theft but a targeted attack by a few radicals in the darkness of the night. A fresh wave of anti-Hindu violence prevailed across Bangladesh following the death of Sharif Osman Bin Hadi. This escalation occurred against the backdrop of ongoing anti-Hindu violence that had persisted since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024, during which Hindu homes, temples, and religious spaces were repeatedly attacked, and the Hindu community faced intimidation, arson, and mob attacks. In the aftermath of Hadi’s death, Hindu homes were selectively targeted and set ablaze in multiple localities by Muslim mobs, forcing families to flee and rendering many homeless. The violence was not sporadic but patterned, with Muslim mobs targeting Hindu neighbourhoods, properties, and religious symbols with impunity. One of the many victims of this wave of violence was a Hindu man named Dipu Chandra Das, who was brutally lynched by a Muslim mob over false allegations of blasphemy. Such targeting of innocent Hindus over fabricated charges illustrated the vulnerability of the Hindu minority under conditions of rising communal hostility. Posters and written materials calling for the extermination of Hindus were displayed in public spaces, signalling an alarming normalisation of genocidal rhetoric. Combined with acts of physical violence, arson, and vandalism, these developments demonstrated a coordinated campaign designed to terrorise the Hindu community and assert Islamic dominance. Notably, Sharif Osman Bin Hadi was a Muslim political activist and student leader known for his anti-Hindu and anti-India stance. He was actively involved in the political unrest that followed the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government and was killed in Dhaka in December 2025 during clashes, after which Hindus were blamed and subsequently targeted.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Attack on Hindu religious representations. The subcategory selected is- Attack on Temples. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The other subcategory selected is- Desecration of Hindu religious symbol. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. This case stands as a clear instance of an anti-Hindu hate crime. The perpetrators targeted four Hindu temples in quick succession, deliberately attacking these sacred sites one after another. Hindu temples hold profound religious and spiritual significance; they serve not merely as buildings but as living embodiments of the divine presence revered by millions. By selectively assaulting these temples, the attackers revealed their deep-rooted religious animosity towards the Hindu community, transforming what might appear as theft into a brazen act of religiously motivated hatred. The violence extended far beyond mere intrusion; the temples were thoroughly looted. The miscreants stripped away cherished items used in daily worship, such as gold necklaces, conch shells, dhals, puja pots, Shiva’s snake ornaments, Nandi idols, copper tridents, and metal bells. This plunder demonstrated utter contempt for the sanctity of Hindu places of worship, which Hindus hold as the very heart of their faith. Such desecration of these revered spaces underscores the perpetrators' intent to degrade and undermine Hindu religious practices, cementing this as a hate-driven assault on the community's spiritual core. Furthermore, the attackers desecrated and vandalised several idols (Murtis) of Hindu gods and goddesses. In Hinduism, these idols are far more than ornaments or statues; they represent tangible manifestations of the divine, through which devotees offer prayers, conduct rituals, and forge their deepest spiritual connections. Knowing full well the immense reverence these murtis hold, the perpetrators shattered them without remorse, exposing their profound intolerance and visceral hatred for Hindu worship. This targeted sacrilege lays bare a deliberate campaign to humiliate and erase symbols of Hindu devotion, making it a religiously motivated crime. Another telling detail emerges in the scale of the attack: the perpetrators did not strike at one isolated temple but hit four in a row, revealing a deliberate pattern of attacking Hindu temples rather than random opportunism. This coordinated onslaught on Hindu places of worship echoes a troubling trend of assaults on Hindu religious sites across Bangladesh. Such repetition demands recognition as a religiously motivated hate crime, not a mere coincidence. Given that this incident fully meets the criteria for a religiously motivated offence: targeted attacks on sacred spaces, looting with contempt, and idol desecrations. It has been formally added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
